Zonguldak is a city and the capital of Zonguldak Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It was established in 1849 as a port town for the nearby coal mines in Ereğli and the coal trade remains its main economic activity. According to the 2009 census, Zonguldak has a population of 108,792. The current mayor is Muharrem Akdemir, representing the CHP. Zonguldak is one of the highest income economies among Turkish cities.

Etymology

There are several different theories concerning the origin of the city's name.

One is that it comes from Zone Geul-Dagh, the name given to the area by French and Belgian mining companies[3][4] to refer to the zone near "Geul-Dagh" or Göldağı ('Lake Mountain'), the highest mountain in the vicinity of the Devrek district.

Another theory is that the name originates from the Turkish zongalık which means swamp, or zongura.

Another is that the name may derive from the name of the nearby ancient settlement of Sandraka or Sandràke (in Ancient greek Σανδράκη).

According to another theory the name may have come from the compound word Jangal-Dagh, composed of Persianjangal, which the French entrepreneurs called the area due to its uneven and wooded geography, plus Turkish dağ 'mountain'.

In a 1920 report, the British Foreign Office spelled Zonguldak Zunguldak.[5]

History

The port city of Zonguldak suffered a heavy bombardment by the Russians during World War I, according to the caption of a Lubok popular print.[6]

As of 1920, the port was under the control of the Heraclea Coal Company. The northern part of the bay featured a man made harbor, for steamship use. At that time, they had two cranes which distributed coal to exporting vessels.[5]

Climate

Zonguldak has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), closely bordering a humid subtropical climate (Cfa); with high and evenly distributed rainfall the year round. Summers are warm and humid, and the average temperature is around 21 °C in July and August. Winters are cool and damp, and the average temperature is around 6 °C in January and February.

Precipitation is heaviest in autumn and early winter and lightest in spring. Snowfall is quite common between the months of December and March, snowing for a week or two, and it can be heavy once it snows.

The water temperature like in the whole Turkish Black Sea coast is always cool and fluctuates between 8° and 20 °C throughout the year.